After making his announcement in the guild chat, Nie Yan told Guo Huai to pay close attention to everything happening in Judgement Valley and recruit any players that distinguished themselves there. Asskickers United needed to nurture experts in PvP against the Demon Tribe and Undead Empire.
On the battlefield, in terms of outdoor survival, no other class could compare to Thieves. Nie Yan dispatched 3,000 promising Thieves to Judgement Valley. It was the perfect place for honing their skills. Apart from these Thieves, any other players that wanted to go there were free to do so.
News of Judgement Valley spread like wildfire. A large number of players from the underworld passed through it to reach the surface. The same was true for players from the Viridian Empire and Satreen Empire. Not just the experts from Asskickers United, but all major guilds sent people over.
With the release of this expansion, the several towns scattered near the ravine became points of heavy contention for various guilds. Everyone wanted control of these places.
Nie Yan looked over the state of Okoron. All the city's defenses were built. What got him excited was that his NPC army had grown to 10,000 troops. Even though they were a ragtag bunch, there were many strong, high level NPCs among them. With them in charge of the city's safety, there was no need to worry.
Apart from Okoron, Nie Yan had also constructed several dozen strongholds in the vicinity. As more and more players arrived here, the Abernathy Great Grasslands' ability to resist the Undead Empire and Demon Tribe would gradually increase.
Checking the time, there was about half an hour until the servers shut down. Nie Yan handed over the equipment he obtained earlier to the Asskickers United's management staff in Orc King City. After emptying his bags, he resupplied on consumables and was about to set off to continue with the next part of the Assassin's Heart quest, when he received a notification.
Howling Wind has obtained the second chapter from Volume IV of the Book of Order, the Chapter of Elements. You will be notified of the player's updated location once every hour.
Coordinates: Ice Elemental Temple, 465.162.357.
"It's him!" Nie Yan's heart trembled. Another player had obtained a chapter from the Book of Order, and it was a name he recognized!
In the previous timeline, Howling Wind was the number one Magister in the Satreen Empire. He refused to join Angel Corps and was subsequently hunted down by them until he disappeared from the game. Back then, countless elven Mages worshipped this proud and arrogant fellow as their idol. In this life, he had even become a Master before Soaring Angel.
Howling Wind had no background. He was a pure solo player who never teamed up and relied only on his own skills to acquire levels and equipment. To attain his current achievements, one could imagine how talented he was.
Nie Yan had long since wanted to get in touch with Howling Wind. However, this fellow was impossible to track down. Asskickers United's informants in the Satreen Empire couldn't dig up any news related to him.
A player like Howling Wind definitely spent most of his time levelling in high level maps, rarely ever returning to town. And when he did, he probably hid himself behind a cloak. After giving up on trying to find him, Nie Yan didn't expect this fellow to show up right in front of his door.
It appeared Howling Wind had obtained the Chapter of Elements from the Ice Elemental Shrine. This place was a repository of ancient spells for ice elemental Mages. According to rumours, even the worst spells there could turn you into a first-rate expert. Of course, not just anyone could enter this place. There were several trials one had to complete to earn the qualifications to enter. As for where exactly it was, even the players who had entered before didn't know.
Howling Wind had definitely seen the chapters in Nie Yan's possession as well. The two were bound to eventually meet.
Nie Yan faintly smiled. He would finally get to meet the number one expert in the Satreen Empire. He couldn't help but be filled with anticipation and expectation.
There were only about three minutes before the servers closed. Nie Yan logged off, then stepped out of the game capsule.
After spending his vacation in Huahai, it was about time to return to school. World Bloc was on the right track. The company was running in full gear, dealing with a huge pile of work. It was an incredibly busy sight. With the support of multiple financial groups and powers looking to get into the good graces of Heavenly Kings, they rapidly expanded and made a ton of money to boot. Their scope of business even expanded beyond big names like the Glory Financial Group and Dragonsoar Financial Group, making them one of the most profitable companies.
Apart from developing World Bloc, Father Nie secretly acquired a 5% stake in the Century Financial Group, a 6% stake in the Dragonsoar Financial Group, a 3% stake in the Glory Financial Group, and stakes in other financial groups as well. Nie Yan could tell they were slowly starting to pry open the whole market.
Nie Yan was filled with pride at the rapid growth of World Bloc. His father really did have a good business sense. If it weren't for the betrayal of his relatives like Luo Ming in the previous timeline, they would've never ended up in such a miserable state.
In this life, Nie Yan himself had prevented this tragic fate!
Nie Yan drove back to their villa with Xie Yao in his Thrawn. After the two put away their luggage, Xie Yao started tidying up the house. Seeing her busy silhouette, he felt a sense of warmth in his heart.
There was still something important Nie Yan had to take care of. He said a few words to Xie Yao and then walked over to a neighbouring villa.
Nie Yan naturally didn't forget the task Mo Yuntian entrusted to him. He wondered how Wang Duo and the others' training under Bayonet was going. If he failed to live up to Mo Yuntian's expectations, the consequences would be grave. So, he came over to personally check on the progress himself.
Bayonet had bought a villa over here. Since Mo Yuntian was bankrolling everything, he remodeled the entire place into a training camp.
Under Nie Yan's orders, Bayonet put Wang Duo and the others through a harsh training regime.
After entering the villa, Nie Yan pushed open the door to the training grounds. What he saw caused him to gape open his mouth in shock.
This training ground was about 300 square meters with plenty of natural light shining in through the windows. It was an open floor plan with nothing but the parquet beneath the feet and a lot of training equipment neatly organized.
Nie Yan glanced at the corpses. Only Bayonet was still standing. The others all lay collapsed on the floor, panting like dying dogs. They wore loose training trousers and no shirts, revealing their bulging muscles. Large beads of sweat rolled off their bodies and dripped onto the floor.
Wang Duo lay collapsed closest to Bayonet. His chest was heavily heaving up and down. He tried to struggle back to his feet several times, but kept falling back down in the end.
"Just this tiny bit of exercise, and you're all already exhausted? Are you really special forces? Any of my brothers are easily stronger than you lot, and they're crippled! Stop lying there like a bunch of dead dogs. Get up! You bunch of useless trash." Bayonet's voice was extremely cold without the slightest emotion.
Bayonet's taunts were sharp, dealing a heavy blow to Wang Duo and the others' pride.
However, Wang Duo and the others were too exhausted to even get angry.
"NGH!" Wang Duo grunted as he slowly crawled back up to his feet.
One by one, the rest followed. Using what little strength they had left in their bodies, they forced themselves upright.
Nie Yan didn't know what kind of method Bayonet used to push these guys so far. But after seeing their state, he was sure this training would produce results.
Nie Yan walked over to Bayonet. Glancing over at Wang Duo and the others, he asked, "So, how are they?"
"Disappointing. If you weren't paying me, I would've walked out on the first day. What a bunch of trash," Bayonet said disdainfully. He didn't hold back in the slightest.
Wang Duo and the others glared at Bayonet hatefully. They were like enraged beasts, ready to fight him to the death at any moment.
Bayonet had trampled on their pride and dignity!
"Captain!" several members exclaimed. If it weren't for Wang Duo holding them back, they would've rushed over and fought it out with Bayonet.
"Keep training!" Wang Duo shouted. He knew how strong Bayonet was first hand. In a fight, he couldn't even last 10 moves. Even though he was furious, he knew the only way to stand a chance against Bayonet was to continue training.
Wang Duo continued doing squats. One, two, three, each one more difficult than the last.
Even though they had noticed Nie Yan's arrival, they followed a strict rule. No matter who walked in, they couldn't stop their training.
The training method Bayonet used was ancient. He would push them to their absolute limits until they were too exhausted to think, then had them keep going. Even though this was old fashioned, it was still very effective.
Nie Yan had no objections to Bayonet's training methods. "How's their progress?"
"Hmph, what progress? They've only just started. I don't know who their instructor was before... This little bit of exercise, and they're already down for the count. Back then, my training was at least 50 times harder than theirs," Bayonet said. Speaking about the past, he became a bit melancholic.
Truthfully, Wang Duo and the others were already quite remarkable. Nie Yan had no idea where a man like Bayonet popped out from. Even though he was curious about Bayonet's past, he didn't pry. Bayonet was a secretive person. If he wanted to earn his trust, he had to respect Bayonet's privacy. One day if Bayonet wanted to talk about it, he would naturally do so.
Seeing Wang Duo and the others still persevering despite being so exhausted, Nie Yan felt his presence wasn't needed here. He was probably fine leaving their real life training to Bayonet. As long as he taught them the techniques of Master classes inside the game, it would be fine.
"I'll give you a 30-minute break. Use it to eat and rehydrate. Then, I'll give you one more chance to challenge me. If you have any complaints, you can come up and try to defeat me." Bayonet swept his sharp gaze over Wang Duo, Lin Yi, and the others.